The news that Sir Winston Churchill will become the new face of the British 5 pound note has been met with harsh criticism from some people. The anger is not so much directed at Churchill himself but more so at the removal of Elizabeth Fry from the note, being the only woman on a British banknote save the Queen.

The Women's Room UK has launched a Change.org petition asking the Bank of England to keep a woman on a banknote. "An all-male line-up on our banknotes sends out the damaging message that no woman has done anything important enough to appear." The petition has already gathered 17,500 signatories.

The Bank of England replied to petition by stating that the new banknote with Churchill isn't scheduled for introduction until 2016 and that a final decision still has to be made. It takes into consideration the list of public suggestions, however, which is published on its website (PDF).

Hello, I'm Steven Bron and welcome to my blog on banknotes! Here you can find: breaking news, background articles and of course my personal collection (world notes or at least one from each country, commemorative notes and polymer notes).